I have a rotomax 3 turbo nozzle. How long should they last before needing to be rebuilt? I was cleaning split face block and I was using a turbo nozzle to do it. It seemed to last about 6 hours then it takes a dump on me. Does it make a difference that I was using it for that long on a vertical surface? I know all about starting it pointing down and I had a high pressure filter on it and it was clean. I got a rebuild kit and it worked again for about 6 hours. When I take it apart there was a groove worn into the ceramic disc. I used a Dremel and smoothed it back out and it works again for awhile. Just wondering what other peoples experience has been with rebuilding turbos. What is peoples point of view on the rotomax? Any other suggestions? I clean a lot of split face block and it comes clean really nice with a turbo. I need a turbo that is light weight. That is why I liked the rotomax. I know the dirt killer is pretty heavy. I just hate having to rebuild them everyday.

10-18-02

Dave Olson

Rotary Nozzles

We have used many different types. Sometimes I think there is (one) company overseas making all of them! J

We have found that the smaller physical size nozzle rotates faster. Because of this we believe that they clean better. The larger (physical size) do not really seem to come into their own until you exceed 5000 psi. They work well on our water blaster. We have run them as high as 10,000 psi.

Heat will reduce the life of these nozzles also. We have had some that didn’t work right out of the box!! Our attempt at rebuilding them did not give as good a result as you received. When we were using them 6-10 hours per day it seemed that if they ran good to start out then they would hang in there for several days.

For whatever reason the nozzle marketed by Comet has been doing pretty for us (they call them something different now! Rotojet or something. I buy them half a dozen at a time and try to find the least expensive of the type I have described.

Even with all the hassle they improve our productivity so much on some projects that we always have several on our trucks ready to go!

Dave Olson

10-19-02

B.E YOUNG Sr,

I was having a similar problem about six months ago. I replaced the plated plug on the inline filter with a stainless steel one. Are you sure it is not the filters plugging up? Also came up with a method to back flush the filters periodicly. Just remove Rotomax and install plug Q.C. plug on that end. Plug it into your wand and let it run for a minute or two. This will back flush the screen in the filter.
Another thing I discovered the hard way is to rinse the nozzle clean after use and put it in a small plastic pocket tackle box. This also helps to make sure you leave with everthing you came with. When doing a job I wear a nylon nail pouch that I keep all my nozzles in.
This keeps the nozzles free of any debris when I plug them in.
The pouch also holds the stereo I listen to on the job using head phones.
I rebuilt a Rotomax 6 months ago and it has ran flawlessly using the above handling method. You can get the repair kits from Espec. for $11.00. That does not include the rotor. I beleive Delco sells those for $20.00
Also when you start using the Rotomax make sure it is pointed down. This is suppose to prolong rotor life.
Sorry for the length of this post. Stay dry and good luck!

10-19-02

Chuck Richard

I have had my rotomax for 2 years now. I use it atleast 5 times aweek. It probably has over 200 hours on it and its never needed rebuilding. The other one i have needed rebuilding after 50 hours so i guess u never know what your getting when u buy one. Whenever you rebuild it u should be replacing the ceramic ring u said u smoothed out. Thats the life of a rotomax.

Also make sure u have the right rotomax for your gpm and psi. If u don't it will cause premature failure. What color is the dot on your rotomax? What gpm and psi do u have? post it and i can tell u if u have the right one.

01-03-03

the_GUNN_man

Sorry to take so long getting back on this one. I have a black dot on my Rotomax using a 5.5 gpm 4000 psi machine( but the engine is 18 hp). I was getting grooves wore into the ceramic disc. I was using it on a wall to clean some split face block. I was wondering if using it on the wall made a difference since most people use them on flatwork. I made sure to keep it pointed down when I started it. I was wondering since my pump says it is 5.5 gpm and 4000 psi but I only have a 18 hp engine what am I really getting out of it? They say to take gpm x psi and divide that by 1100(for gas engines). do that I get 5.5 x 4000 = 22,000. If I divide that by 1100 I get 20. So I need 20 hp to get 5.5 gpm and 4000 psi. Since I have only 18 hp what would my specs be? Do I sacrafice gpm,psi or both? Somebody once told me that your gpm would be the same you would just lose psi. If that is the case would I then only be getting 5.5 gpm and 3600 psi?

01-03-03

Harold Brantley

Steve, the most accurate way to check psi & gpm on your machine is put a psi gauge on it and pump the output in a bucket and measure it.

You can either mount the psi gauge permanently to the pump or unloader or mount it to a "T" fitting with a quick connect coupling and a plug so you can remove it easily. If you put it in right before the wand, you get your reading considering the pressure drop for the hose. Check the pressure with the trigger pulled and this is your spraying pressure. Remember that you have a positive displacement pump and that it will pump the same gpm as long as the engine rpm stays the same. The nozzle size will determine the psi, so you can control it with larger nozzle sizes. But don't use a smaller size than recommended to give your rated psi. Learning how to use nozzle sizes in your washing is a very useful tool that can greatly increase your washing speed without working harder.

Check your gpm by removing the nozzle from your wand and pumping water into a bucket for exactly a minute, then measure exactly the gallons in the bucket. You can modify this slightly to check the exact percentage your chemical injector draws.